Saturday, 8 January 2011

Breathing

It's not unlike anticipating a birth — these last days before Rosa Mira Books goes live and The Glass Harmonica wings its way into the world. The one labouring is not always rational at this late stage; she frets about everything or about one tiny odd thing, she shouts at the midwife, she wants to turn back. One horrid night this week I tossed about for hours and faced the inevitable question: what if I called the whole thing off?

I faced the worst, breathed deeply, and the storm passed over. I'm glued 12 hours a day to the laptop, but now I'm jiggling like a kid as I prepare announcements and press releases, impatient to introduce readers to Chjara Vallé. Here are extracts from this week's review by Eion Flynn of the Irish Sun:

If Dorothee Kocks’ novel The Glass Harmonica were only about a singular theme – that of the intoxication of losing oneself in music – that would probably be enough to satisfy any reader and have them return for more. But this debut offering from Rosa Mira books contrasts that luxurious pleasure with darker desires . . . The manifest undercurrent of shame and the lies that spring from that shame charge the reader with dread and anticipation at their inevitable out.

The Glass Harmonica is rich fare for the senses . . . a most engaging piece of literature.

Are you curious to know what the glass 'armonica' sounded like? While I find it acceptable in small doses, I was entranced to find its ethereal tones perfectly matched to The Sugar Plum Fairy.

One more thing: if any of you treasured blog followers could find cause to mention The Glass Harmonica by Dorothee Kocks, and link that mention to Rosa Mira Books on your own blogs, I'm told that'll help raise the book's profile, and that has to be a good thing.

Here's another big thank you for the warm support you've all offered this year, commenting, following, or simply tip-toeing across these pages.